via Psychology Today: Adoption is not without controversy, as evidenced by many reports of microaggressions directed toward adoptive family members from those outside the adoption community. These may include intrusive and insensitive questions that doubt the authenticity of the family and negative stereotypes associated with adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, and the process of adoption. These sometimes harsh, biased, and hostile views often result in behaviors that stigmatize and have negative effects on both domestically and internationally adopted children and their families.

But a study published in the September 1, 2017 issue of The British Journal of Social Work found that even within the family unit, conflicts and complications unique to the adoptive status of some members often have negative effects on the relationships between everyone involved. One very important family relationship that can be altered by adoption in both positive and negative ways is the sibling relationship. These researchers looked at the unique and various ways sibling relationships require support in an adoptive family and brought out the following points:

  • Adoptive children that are part of a sibling group could lose contact with their brothers and sisters related by birth; maintaining birth family contact requires agreement on the part of everyone involved.

  • Both the adoptive children placed in a family with existing children, and the existing children, must adjust to new sibling relationships.

  • Adoptive parents may feel closer to their birth children and, even when this is not the case, the child who was adopted may perceive it as true.

  • A child’s developmental stage plays a role in how well he or she adjusts to adoption.

  • Children who are adopted as part of a sibling group often provide positive companionship, comfort, protection and support for each other throughout the adjust period. But in some cases, there may be intense jealousy and competition for attention from the adoptive parent(s). One child may feel that the other has developed a closer bond than they have with the parent or, for instance, that a younger child is receiving preferential treatment that they themselves never experienced at the same age. These problems often surface among children who struggle with interpersonal relationships in general.
  • When a child is adopted to provide a sibling for a birth child, the chances that the birth child would display feelings of jealousy, confusion, and displacement were about equal to the chances of a smooth, harmonious adjustment.

The goal of good mental health care for adoptive families, both pre- and post-adoption, is always to provide the families with support and help the children thrive. But questions need to be answered before solutions, both preventative and remedial, can be found. For instance, what is typical sibling behavior and what is behavior that is a direct result of the adoptive family’s and adopted child’s circumstances? These researchers recommend that practitioners rely on systems theory, and a family systems framework, when attempting to understand sibling relationships within the adoptive family. They also suggest that some adopted children may require a long-term counseling relationship, even into early adulthood, in order to succeed within the context of an adoptive family.


via Psychology Today: This article was originally written for PediaStaff, a provider of pediatric therapy services.

A friend of mine, and fellow music therapist, Kat Fulton shared a story with me recently:

I utilized drumming at a camp for kids who have parents with cancer. We sang, chanted, and drummed. At the end of it all, I invited each child one by one to come to the center whenever they wanted. When they got to the center, they could cut off the drumming and share something they are thankful for. Then we’d continue drumming. After drumming and singing, and playing rhythm games for an hour, you can imagine how supported and safe these kids felt among their peers. One little 6-year-old girl came to the center and said “That my mom can still be happy.” Her father had passed from cancer.

This little girl experienced what many other children and adolescents have experienced before: group support and the feeling of safety that allowed her to share a big feeling. All facilitated through drumming.

Drumming isn’t an experience that “only” music therapists can use. In fact, many professionals with a little bit of training can use drum and percussion experiences to help children with special needs in the areas of motor strength and control, speech and communication, social skills, emotional expression, and cognition.

But what exactly is drumming? And how can it help children with special needs? Let’s explore…

What is Drumming?

When I first approached Kalani, a professional percussionist, Orff-certified music educator, and music therapist, and asked “how do you see group drumming used as a therapeutic tool?”, he responded with “how are we defining the term ‘drumming’?”

Kalani then shared with me an article he wrote with music therapist Bill Matney called “A Taxonomy of Drumming Experiences.” This article outlines various type of drum-based experiences: Drum Play, Traditional Drumming, Guided Interactive Drumming, Drum Circle, Musical Improvisation, Clinical Improvisation, and Technique-Oriented Play.

Whew!

When they envision “drumming,” most people think of the Drum Circle, which the taxonomy on the Music Therapy Drumming (MTD) website describes as an interactive group process that utilizes a variety of drums and percussion instruments. Although drum circles can be used for recreational purposes, they can also be used to target other goals. The drum circle facilitator, or leader, need not be a formally trained musician, but s/he should have some musical skills and some sort of training in drum circle facilitation.

However, “drumming” can include any number of experiences, from traditional playing to improvisation to “drum play.” For the purposes of this article, “drumming” will refer to any type of group drumming experience–the exact type of which will depend on the goals of the group.

Does Drumming Work?
The evidence seems to say “yes.” In December 2010, a research study was published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. This study looked into the effectiveness of a drumming program in LA called “Beat the Odds”

What did the study find? That participating in drumming activities led to significant social and emotional improvements for the students involved.

This wasn’t the first study to look into how drumming helps children. One of the earliest studies, published in 1976 in the Journal of Music Therapy, investigated how a percussion “game” improved social behaviors for children with mental retardation.

Since then, research has provided support for the positive effect of drumming experiences on social behaviors, grief, self-expression, self-esteem, group cohesion, depression, behavioral issues, bimanual coordination, and learning for children and adults both with and without disabilities (you can find a short bibliography at the end of this article).

How Does Drumming Help Children?

This is all well and good, but what exactly can drumming do? And, more specifically, how can it help children with special needs?

Music therapist Bill Matney shares that there are many reasons why drumming can be useful as a therapeutic tool. Drums and percussion instruments are progressively accessible, physical, sensory, portable, socially interactive, expressive, cultural, and offer a unique aesthetic experience. Someone who has never played a musical instrument in his/her life can pick up a shaker and participate in a drumming experience.

For children with special needs, drumming can be a powerful tool to help them address:

  • Social Needs. Drumming often occurs as a collaborative, interactive process. If facilitated correctly, participating in drumming experiences can help a child work on skills such as turn-taking and sharing, as well as help them feel they are part of a group contributing towards a group process.

  • Communication Needs. Playing a drum or percussion instrument can be a useful way to communicate nonverbally and to “listen” to another person’s nonverbal communication.

  • Fine and Gross Motor Skills. This may almost seem self-evident, but different playing techniques can be used to help work on different fine and gross motor skills. This can even be true for developing lower extremity strength (e.g. imagine standing and playing a large conga drum).

  • Emotional Needs. As with the girl Kat Fulton worked with, participating in a drumming activity can help a child feel safe enough to express his/her feelings. Additionally–and speaking from experience–there’s nothing much better for releasing anger than banging on a drum.

  • Cognitive Needs. By participating in a drumming experience, children can be working on attention, impulse control, and decision-making skills.

As with many interventions, there are contraindications involved. Kalani notes that too loud a volume, playing with poor technique, and using instruments with a high vibrotactile response can potentially pose problems. This is why getting trained as a facilitator is important.

What Training is Required?
One of the benefits of utilizing drumming experiences is that trained leaders or facilitators do not have to be trained musicians (a pre-requisite for becoming a board-certified music therapist). There are various training programs and resources around the country that offer training for future drumming facilitators.


via PBS parents: Living with kids is inherently chaotic. Children are messy, uncoordinated, and excitable, and need your help to do almost everything. For an illustration of exactly what we’re talking about, just connect the dots below to reveal a picture of what a particularly crazy morning might look like at your family’s house:

Looks messy, huh?

If it also looks familiar, then now might be a good time to make sure you’re keeping your household’s kid-induced chaos level in check. And there’s a really great reason to do so.

Researchers at the University of Louisville, Columbia University, New York University and Virginia Polytechic Institute studying the effect of household chaos—defined by disorganization, lack of routine, excessive noise, crowdedness, lots of coming and going, or an overly fast pace—have found that that the more chaotic a family’s life is, the more likely their children are to encounter a number of issues, including:

  • smaller vocabularies and lower IQs
  • higher levels of attention, aggression and conduct problems
  • delay-of-gratification limitations
  • more stress
  • poorer and less consistent sleep patterns
  • less positive relationships with parents and siblings
  • worse overall health

Household chaos is so detrimental to kids that even the best parenting practices can’t overcome its effects. Multiple studies have shown that chaos leads to negative outcomes for kids, no matter what your parenting style is, how much money your family may have, or what your kids’ personalities are like. That means that chaos can happen in any home—even if you’re doing everything else right!

How can you tell if your house is too chaotic?
If you have kids, some level of household craziness is completely normal. But how much is too much? Here’s a collection of actual statements used by researchers to determine just how chaotic peoples homes are. Ask yourself how much you agree with each of the following—completely, not at all, or somewhere in between:

  • There is very little commotion in our home.
  • We can usually find things when we need them.
  • No matter how hard we try, we always seem to be running late.
  • It’s a real zoo in our home.
  • At home we can talk to each other without being interrupted.
  • There is often a fuss going on in our home.
  • No matter what our family plans, they usually don’t work out.
  • I often get drawn into other people’s arguments at home.
  • Our home is a good place to relax.
  • First thing in the day, we have a regular routine at home.

You can probably figure out which answers above point to potential chaos problems. If you can’t figure it out because you’re too busy putting out figurative and/or literal fires in your family room, you definitely have some issues to work on!

How can you fix household chaos problems?
If you think your home may be a little too chaotic for comfort, it’s easy to improve your situation ASAP!

By replacing chaos with calmer, more structured family time, you can experience more positive family interactions, better opportunities for making happy family memories, and benefits to your child’s social and emotional development. Here are five simple ways to get started:

  1. Be a little boring
    Design a basic structure for your family’s day, complete with predictable, regular times for you to do normal, everyday stuff—like getting ready for the day, doing homework, sitting down with the whole family for dinner, and getting ready for bed. Having a set of activities everyone can count on will help you and your child meet daily challenges and free you up for more leisure time.

  2. Slow down
    Have extracurricular activities overtaken your family? Avoid overscheduling, and you’ll gain more opportunities to make memories together as a family.

  3. Get personal
    Recognize that not every family’s routines are the same. Think about what kinds of routines would be most effective at leading to productive and rewarding interactions for your family.

  4. Prioritize
    When trying to organize a particularly chaotic home life, start with small, manageable goals. Consider which changes would benefit your family the most and attack them first. Is your house always too loud for anybody to think? Try instituting set times for noisy activities like watching TV, playing games or banging away at that drum set Grandma so thoughtfully got for your little one’s birthday. After you’ve successfully made a change or two (and your house has started becoming less chaotic as a result), you’ll probably find future changes become easier to implement.

  5. Chart your progress
    Try giving your kids a personalized checklist of the things they’re responsible for doing before school or at bedtime. Seeing the physical schedule in front of them will help them remember everything they’re supposed to do—and being able to check off each item as they get things done throughout the day can make it more fun, too!
    Which steps do you plan to take to decrease the chaos in your house?

via SAX & HONEY: One of the most frequent questions I get asked by my students is “When is the best age to start playing the saxophone?”

People often assume that because I am a full-time professional player and saxophone teacher that I must have started very early in life. They also often assume too that, unless you start practising music as young as possible, there isn’t much hope for you becoming a competent player.

The truth is though, the best time to start playing the sax is that moment when you feel that you’d really love to be able to pick the instrument up and make it sing.

The “right” time to start playing the saxophone for me personally was when I was introduced to the instrument by a new friend while on holiday.

As soon as I had the sax in my mouth and started making the first tentative sounds, I realised with an absolute passion that, no matter how hard it was, no matter how rubbish I sounded, playing the sax was something that I wanted to do. I was in it for the long game. I was 26 years old and from that moment on I enrolled myself in the persona of a sax player.

So really the short answer to the title of this blog post, in my opinion at least, is that the best age to start playing the saxophone is when you have the desire to do so.

And that could be at any stage of life. I have taught children as young as five years old. My oldest student is over 80 years old, and I teach students of all ages in-between.

In this blog post I’m going to focus primarily on the childhood years and early teens. I’ll be covering the teenage years and adulthood in a subsequent post so please do sign up to my blog if you’d like to find out more about that topic.

The “pull not push” philosophy

When it comes to teaching the sax, my approach is not to “push” anyone, and especially not children, into music. I prefer to “pull” them into it. And I aim to do that by making the learning process as fun, enjoyable and inspiring as possible.

I strongly believe that if you force children into music, then what you can risk ending up with is a very capable musician who hates playing their instrument. The last thing I want is a competent but unhappy musician!

I believe that the best (and happiest) musicians are the ones who love playing. The ones who feel a connection to music and who love their instrument with a passion. My role is to nurture that passion – and I don’t think that can be done by force.

Of course we need to teach children how to be tenacious, responsible and dedicated and to understand how essential practising their instrument is (even when they don’t always feel like it.) In my opinion though, the best way to achieve this is by bestowing these traits, and the whole subject of saxophones, with an irresistible magnetic pull.

Playing the saxophone as a child

The two main advantages of starting playing the saxophone very young are that you have more time left in which to learn and your brain is so very well set up for absorbing and retaining information.

If you make learning fun for the very young student, the rate at which they can learn is astounding. Children can also be much more open to making mistakes than older people, it just seems to bother them much less. This more carefree approach accelerates learning because it allows greater freedom of expression without worrying about how they look or sound. Younger kids are also at the stage of life where they are learning new things pretty much all the time, and so they are often more comfortable than an adult who may not have been in a learning situation for a long while.

The best saxophone for kids

There are of course some physical considerations when thinking about a very young person taking up the sax. They have to be physically big enough, and strong enough, to be able to pick up and hold the instrument.

A typical alto saxophone weighs about 5 kilograms, and sometimes more depending on the model. That’s well over half a stone – a lot of weight to have hanging round your neck. A young person’s hands also need to be big enough to cover the keys. So, in my opinion, and this is of course dependent on the individual, the youngest I think that you can seriously take up the sax (in terms of being able to comfortably handle the instrument at least) is around 7 years old.

The great news for kids though, is that there is a saxophone which has been specially designed for children! It’s called the Trevor James Alphasax and it’s a real innovation in saxophone design. The Alphasax looks and sounds pretty much exactly the same as a regular alto, however it’s been completely redesigned and some of the very lowest and very highest keys have been removed. As a result it is much lighter, weighing in at 1.86 kg which is 33% lighter than a regular saxophone. I have personally owned two of these instruments and I think they are excellent for children as a starter sax.

One of the downsides to starting the sax very young is that children can sometimes be rather easily distracted and sometimes their concentration span is still developing. Lessons that are thoughtfully structured, that include lots of fun activities and short breaks for a bit of conversation and sharing of ideas, are often more compelling and enjoyable to a very young person than say a solid 60 minutes of saxophone tuition.

Starting in your early teens

By the time kids are in their teens, the physical considerations of playing the sax (the weight of the sax, the distance between the keys etc) are usually not so much of a factor as they are for younger children.

Teenagers are still very much in the learning frame of mind too, which means they’re ideally placed to take on new information in an open way.

Some younger teens can be more self-conscious and less communicative. They may also have a lot of other significant changes and demands in their life, both personally and at school, so these challenges may affect how they respond to their lessons and how much time they realistically have to practice.

Having said that though, anywhere in your teenage years is a great time to start because, you have so many more years ahead of you in which to learn and grow. So if the desire is strong then I would certainly suggest starting the saxophone as a teenager.

As a saxophone teacher, my primary objective with younger students, whatever their age or ability, is to encourage them to enjoy the experience of learning the sax. If I can do that, and if I can inspire a passion and genuine love for the subject, then everything else will flow from there.


via all my Children: Book smarts is one thing, but “street smarts” and common sense are quite another. Every person is different and has a varying degree of natural common sense in their personality. But no matter the level of your child’s common sense and intelligence, you can still teach him to use what they’ve got to the best of their abilities and help them develop it wisely and thoughtfully.

Kids are like sponges and will learn by instruction, example, and practice. Here are some ways you can instill common sense into your child and help him get better and better at putting his common sensibilities into practice. He will grow into a more responsible person and make smarter choices when faced with a struggle.

Start Early
Allow your child to make simple choices at an early age. If you do everything for him and never let him experiment or explore, as he gets older, he won’t be as confident to make decisions. Of course, your parenting will guide him down the smart path, but give him a chance to choose right from wrong and see where his mind takes him. Kids are smarter than we think, and the more we put our trust in their basic decision-making skills, the more they’ll use them. Kids are naturally curious, so let them seek answers on their own when possible.

Allow Them to Fail/Make Mistakes
Along the way, your child will pick the wrong choice or make poor decisions. This is how he’ll learn to reassess the next time and try something that works better. Failure is only the stepping stone to future success. Let your child use his mind to learn right from wrong and good from bad by practicing his common sense skills. The worst mistake is to never try.

Trust Their Instinct
Before telling your child which move to make, give it a moment and allow him to try to figure out what to do. Instinct is a powerful tool that can lead your child to make decisions you never knew he’d be able to come up with on his own. Watch how he uses his senses to assess situations and weigh the pros and cons. We have lots of influence over our kids, but if we leave them to their own devices now and then, we can see how they can thrive.

How do you teach your child to use and develop his or her common sense? For more information such as this, please visit AMC’s blogs.


via azcentralMaking checklists can seem tedious and boring, but the practice can save your business by improving efficiency and minimizing mistakes. Also, with checklists there’s a written paper trail showing accountability for each leg of any project. With a basic framework you can look back on, it will be easier to pinpoint any troubles before they make their way down the pike.

Personal Checklists
Making a checklist for yourself is a good way to start your business off on the right foot. It ensures you get your daily, weekly and monthly tasks done on time, helps you keep track of projects on deadline and ensures you’re organized throughout the day. It sets a good example for your employees as well. If the boss keeps a checklist, the workers are more apt to keep one, too. It provides a consistency to the business, showing that what you expect from your employees is what you expect from yourself. Keep your list manageable so that you can accomplish most of what you’ve written down on any given day. Make time for meetings and communication. You can even put those things on the list.

Project Checklists
Whether or not you work a 9- to -5 day, every business has projects that need to be managed quickly and well. Each project should have its own checklist of objectives and tasks. As the project team works on it, it can cross off each piece. This helps to make sure everything gets done in a timely fashion and that no piece is forgotten or swept under the rug. Use these lists for accountability by having the employees who finished each task initial next to it. Try to order these lists so that workers can see what needs to be done next. This will streamline the project process.

Revolving Checklists
Use lists for daily tasks that need to be completed regardless of other business attended to. As you complete projects and move toward new goals, these tasks will gradually change. Allow this master list to change with them, updating it each day. When a task is completed, remove it from the list entirely to make room for the next task. Even if you are rewriting the same job each day for a month (like calling clients for new product), it will forge a concrete habit in your brain and ensure that you don’t forget any mundane details.

Priority Checklists
Priority checklists are a little more involved than basic checklists, because they also include a priority component, meaning that certain tasks are more important than others and must be done first. With these lists, accountability is key, so make sure each task that is accomplished has initials next to it of someone who will vouch for the work. The lists work best for event planning, where team members need to see the whole picture but have to break down the components to make sure everything goes according to plan.


meplus3today: If you regularly read my blog, you will probably know that I am passionate about making a difference in the world. I love to do acts of kindness and help others. I understand that it is partially due to my personality, but I also believe that it is a value that can be taught. So, I plan to pass my passion for helping others on to my kids. I want to teach them that no matter how old they are, they still have the ability to make a difference!

I am teaching them this in a variety of ways, too many for just one blog post. So I am going to start out by sharing 5 methods that I am using. I hope you will take these ideas and implement them in your family too!

5 Ways to Teach Kids that They Can Make a Difference

1) Start Young
The girls aren’t even 3 yet, and my son is about 19-months old. It may seem like they are a little too young to understand this concept. And that might be true, I’m not really sure. But I believe that if they are raised from the beginning with the idea that they can make a difference at any age, it will become as natural as breathing for them.

I actually really started being more intentional about this just before the girls turned 2, and my son was about 8 months old. I had them coloring supper sacks for a local organization that distributes dinners to children who qualify for the free lunch program during the school day. Ever since then, I am constantly thinking of ways to get them involved in service projects.

If you think more about it, you are never too young to make a difference for someone. Just think of the feelings and emotions a newborn baby brings on. That little one is likely warming the hearts of anyone he/she comes in contact with!

2) Lead by Example
What better way to teach your child than to actually display the desired behavior yourself. You are your child’s number one teacher! And believe it or not, they are watching you. I think kids are like sponges, and they soak up every little detail, whether you notice it or not.

So if they see you doing something to make a difference, no matter how insignificant it might seem, they will likely start to imitate that behavior.

Plus, isn’t it a little hypocritical to want your child to do something, when you don’t even do it yourself? It shouldn’t be a “Do as I say, not as I do” type of thing. Instead, have a “Watch what I do, and you can do it too” attitude!

3) Use Books to Illustrate Encourage and Motivate
Another great way to teach children that they can make a difference is by reading books with that type of theme. It is a fun and simple way to get an important message to them.

The new “I Can Change the World” personalized books from I See Me! is a great example of a book that would encourage and motivate your kids. With phrases like “You have the power each day when you awake to make our world better with the choices you make,” and “Start out really simple and show us your smile. It gets passed to each person from mile to mile!” it shows just how easy it is for even the youngest child to make a difference.

The “I Can Change the World” personalized book also makes a personal connection to children, as they see their photo on the dedication page and their name on the cover and throughout the book. It will make them feel as if the book is speaking directly to them, helping the message resonate even more!

Not only is the book itself a great resource to teach kids that they can make a difference, but it’s produced by a company that gives back. I See Me! has started the #ShareYourSmile campaign to give kids a chance to affect change just by sharing a smile. They have also supported the Scary Mommy Thanksgiving Project by donating $5000! So choosing this book could also be a great way to “lead by example” as I talked about in #2 above.

4)Start within the Family
One of the best places to start encouraging kids to make a difference is within your family. And I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities to help within your home.

For example, explain to them how picking up their toys or taking out the trash makes a difference to you. It might make you happier and allow you more time to do other fun activities with them. It also makes a difference in your homes appearance, which could make it a more relaxed environment for the family. I’m sure you can think of plenty of other reasons why certain tasks would make a difference within your home. They may not always understand or abide by what you say, but it’s a great place to start!

5) Show Examples of What Other Kids are Doing
Showing your children what other kids are doing in the world isn’t about comparison or making them feel bad. It’s about showing them that kids truly CAN of making a difference.

It might also help them understand that if kids out there are doing these newsworthy projects, then they are obviously capable to do just a small act to make a difference. Additionally, it could encourage them, or provide ideas that they might want to try.

**********
There are so many benefits for teaching kids that they can make a difference. It could help build their self-esteem and confidence. They will get exposure to a variety of learning experiences. The values of kindness and helping others is important in all aspects of their lives as they grow into adults. And of course, all of the wonderful things they do to will make a big impact even greater than just themselves!

I hope you found these ideas helpful and are able to use them and adapt them for your children! I can’t wait to hear how it’s going!


via readingeggs: Explicit and systematic instruction which develops sound-letter awareness and an understanding of how written language works is a great way to build reading fluency in children with dyslexia.

Learning to read with dyslexia
Dyslexia is a difference in the way the brain processes language, ranging from mild to severe.

It’s important for parents and teachers to note that dyslexia is not linked to low intelligence, hearing or vision problems, or any other factors for that matter. With the right instructional approach, all children with dyslexia can learn to read fluently with the right instructional approach.

Children with dyslexia are usually lacking in phonemic awareness. This is a recognition that words are made up of individual sounds which can then be represented by written letters and spelling patterns.

All children need to build phonemic awareness before they learn to read. Without it, it makes blending and segmenting sounds and letters extremely difficult.

For some children, poor orthographic coding can also be part of the problem. Orthography is the set of conventions for writing a language, such as standardised spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and so on. If a child does not grasp these writing ‘rules’ it is difficult to read fluently and for meaning.

Recent research indicates that individuals with a language learning disability, such as dyslexia, also struggle with morphological awareness – being able to break down unknown words into base words, suffixes and prefixes in order to work out their meaning. This is another barrier to reading for comprehension.

Building phonemic awareness and phonics in children with dyslexia

Whereas most pre-school children (4–5 years old) can aurally recognise a word’s starting sound and ending sound, children with dyslexia may struggle with this.

For example, asking them to tell you a word that rhymes with ‘hat’, or a word that starts with ‘mmm’, may just be too hard for them.

Early school years students (6–7 years old) will be expected to ‘sound out’ a word and write down the corresponding letters for each sound, e.g. buh/ah/tuh – bat. A child with dyslexia may struggle to identify the individual sounds, let alone link them to a written letter.

Successful programs that teach children with dyslexia how to read start with a strong focus on phonological awareness, the understanding that speech is broken into individual sounds, e.g. cat – kuh/ah/tuh. This is the basis for understanding how language is formed.

Once children have grasped this concept, phonics skills can be developed – linking the sounds to letters. For example, the sound ‘ssss’ in ‘see’ is represented by the letter s, whereas the sound ‘shhh’ in ‘sheep’ is represented by sh.

These two pre-reading elements – phonemic awareness and phonics skills – may take longer than usual to develop in a child with dyslexia. They may not develop at all without systematic, explicit and repetitive instruction.

Teaching spelling rules for children with dyslexia and reading difficulties
While phonics instruction can teach a child to read words, reading for comprehension relies on more than just decoding letters into sounds.

Research strongly supports the idea that children with dyslexia benefit from being explicitly taught language conventions, which add to the meaning of words and sentences. Orthography covers standardised spelling rules, such as how to create plurals, for example, adding s or es: cat – cats, bus – buses.

It also looks at the exceptions to these rules, such as making irregular nouns into plurals, for example, mouse – mice, sheep – sheep.

Learning how standardised punctuation and capitalisation rules add meaning is important for comprehension. This is a classic example of a missing comma changing the meaning: Let’s eat grandpa. As opposed to: Let’s eat, grandpa.

Morphology
Another effective strategy for teaching children to decode unknown words is morphological awareness – breaking larger words into base words, suffixes and prefixes in order to work out their meaning using their parts.

Note: This knowledge is emphasised in The Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading developed by the International Dyslexia Association.

A recent look at studies on morphological awareness intervention stated that this “may be an especially important skill to improve reading success for students at risk for or diagnosed with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia … as this skill promotes written word decoding and identification”.

Some examples of decoding words using morphemes:

  • muddy – take the base word mud and the suffix -y to create an adjective.
  • unkind – the prefix un- turns the base word kind into its opposite – not kind, mean, cruel.
  • jellybean – a compound word made of two bases meaning a bean shape made of jelly.

How ABC Reading Eggs helps children with dyslexia learn how to read

ABC Reading Eggs is a structured online learn-to-read program that offers personalised instruction in an engaging manner, benefiting children of all abilities and learning styles.

A placement test ensures the children starts at the optimal level, and only moves on when they have grasped each lesson.

The lessons in ABC Reading Eggs explicitly and systematically teach early reading concepts. The sequence of lessons builds active reading comprehension skills. Children will progress from learning to spell and decode words and their meanings to fluent reading for comprehension.

The animated, interactive lessons in ABC Reading Eggs begin with phonemic skills – identifying beginning sounds and rhyming words, matching sounds and letters, sounding out words, segmenting and blending sounds and letters.

Later lessons build on these phonemic skills to include orthography and morphology – spelling rules, punctuation, suffixes, prefixes and compound words.

This self-paced program has a variety of fun interactive activities presented as games. These provide the repetition needed for the skills and knowledge to become part of the child’s long term memory, without letting them get bored.

Each ABC Reading Eggs lesson ends with a book matched to the student’s current ability, which lets them enjoy the thrill of reading on their own. They can choose to have the book read to them, then reread the book to themselves. There are over 2500 levelled books for your child to practise their reading.

See how ABC Reading Eggs works

We offer all new parents a free trial to see how ABC Reading Eggs works for their child.

It only takes a few minutes to get started – and unlike other reading programs, you won’t need to provide your credit card details until you’re totally confident it’s right for you.

Try ABC Reading Eggs here to see how your child’s reading and comprehension skills can improve in just weeks.

ABC Reading Eggs testimonials for children with dyslexia

“ABC Reading Eggs has been the best purchase for our homeschool this year. Our 8-year-old dyslexic son loves and learns from this visually exciting program. It has helped his reading and also his writing as he has started his own ‘ABC Reading Eggs’ story book! He draws his own map, creates characters for each level and writes a story for each one. Amazing!” – Edyth N.

“Wonderful! My 10-year-old son has dyslexia and has finally learned to read, albeit slowly in our local language. English is the language we speak at home and I thought I would give ABC Reading Eggs a try, while putting NO pressure on him to do it. He asks to do ABC Reading Eggs several times a week! He is on Lesson 39. I know he is progressing because of the progress reports (I dare not look over his shoulder!) Thank you for the program!” – Shoshana G.


via Understood: Getting organized can make life easier for kids with learning and attention issues. It might take some effort in the beginning, but it’s worth it in the long run. Here are tips to help your child improve organization skills at home, at school and beyond.

1. Break tasks into chunks.
Help your child break school projects or household chores into smaller, more manageable steps. This will show your child that each project has a beginning, middle and end, which can make projects feel less overwhelming. For example, if your child’s nightly chore is to clear the table, explain: First she should scrape leftovers into the garbage, then load the dishes into the dishwasher, then wipe the counters.

2. Make checklists and to-do lists.
Once your child knows all the steps involved with a particular task, help her add it to an overall to-do list. Include regular homework and chores on the list. Encourage her to keep the list in a place where she’ll see it often and to check off accomplishments as she goes. She might create it using a smartphone app, write it on a dry-erase board in her bedroom or print out a list to carry around with her throughout the day.

3. Teach calendar and time management skills.
Encourage your child write down important tasks in a digital calendar or on a paper one. Then help her estimate how much time each task will take. After she completes the tasks, ask whether the time estimate was accurate or not. If needed, suggest adjustments for next time. It may also help to have your child write the due date directly on school assignments.

4. Establish daily routines.
Creating a regular schedule can help your child learn what to expect throughout the day. Use picture schedules, clocks and other time management strategies. Explore Parenting Coach for a variety of expert-approved tips on establishing daily routines.

5. Introduce idea organizers.
Show your child how to use outlines, graphic organizers or concept webs to organize ideas for school projects. Encourage her to take class notes in two columns, using a narrow column on the left for main ideas or questions and a wide column on the right for all the details. Later, when your child is studying for a test, she can look at what’s in the narrow column to review the big ideas and see if she can remember the details.

6. Use color-coding.
Assign colors to each school subject. For example, green folders and notebooks may be for English and blue for math. Use brightly colored pocket folders for items that need to be signed and returned. Suggest that your child use colored pens to help shift from the role of writer to the role of self-checker and editor.

7. Create fun memory aids.
Show your child how to create her own silly sentences, songs, acronyms or cartoons to remember information. (One popular mnemonic, “Never Eat Soggy Waffles,” helps kids remember north, east, south and west.) She can use these memory aids for anything from preparing for an exam to recalling her locker combination.

8.Create an organized work space.
Set aside a space at home where your child can work without interruption. It might work best if this is somewhere near you for times when she needs your assistance. Keep school supplies and technology such as calculators, tablets or laptops nearby.

9.Do regular backpack audits.
Your child’s backpack is a crucial link between home and school—so it’s important to keep it neat. Schedule a time each week for your child to clean out and organize her backpack.

10. Help your child think ahead.
Before bedtime, review plans for the next day with your child. This can make her feel more secure. Together you can plan how to handle things if a change comes up in the schedule.


via KidsHealth: How did you learn how to ride your bike? Someone probably gave you a few lessons and then you practiced a lot. You can learn how to study in much the same way. No one is born knowing how to study. You need to learn a few study skills and then practice them.

Why work on your study skills? It will make it easier for you to learn and do well in class, especially as you move up to middle school and high school.

Here are six steps to smarter studying:

  1. Pay attention in class.
  2. Take good notes.
  3. Plan ahead for tests and projects.
  4. Break it down. (If you have a bunch of stuff to learn, break it into smaller chunks.)
  5. Ask for help if you get stuck.
  6. Get a good night’s sleep!

1. Pay Attention: Good Studying Starts in Class
Here’s a riddle for you: Did you know that before you even begin studying, you’ve already started? Huh? Here’s what we mean. When you pay attention in class and take good notes, you are starting the process of learning and studying.

Do you have trouble paying attention in class? Are you sitting next to a loud person? Is it hard to see the board? Make sure you’re sitting in a good seat that lets you pay attention. Tell your teacher or parents about any problems that are preventing you from paying attention and taking good notes.

2. Good Notes = Easier Studying
Not sure how to take notes? Start by writing down facts that your teacher mentions or writes on the board during class. Try your best to use good handwriting so you can read your notes later. It’s also a good idea to keep your notes, quizzes, and papers organized by subject.

3. Plan Ahead and You’ll Be Glad You Did
Waiting until Thursday night to study for Friday’s test will make for a homework night that’s no fun! It also makes it hard to do your best. We’re all guilty of putting things off sometimes. One of the best ways to make sure that doesn’t happen is to plan ahead.

Ask for a cool calendar (something you like and can keep by your desk or study area) and write down your test and assignment due dates. You can then plan how much to do after school each day, and how much time to spend on each topic. Are lessons or extracurricular activities making it hard to find time to study? Ask your mom or dad how to make a schedule of what to do when.

4. Break It Up!
When there’s a lot to study, it can help to break things into chunks. Let’s say you have a test on 20 spelling words. Instead of thinking about all of the words at once, try breaking them down into five-word chunks and working on one or two different chunks each night.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember something on the first try. That’s where practice comes in. The more days you spend reviewing something, the more likely it is to stick in your brain. There are also tricks called mnemonic (say: new-MON-ik) devices that can help you remember stuff. When you’re trying to memorize a list of things, make up a phrase that uses the first letter of each. For example, are you trying to learn the eight planets and their order from the sun? Think: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos to remember Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Your teacher can give you ideas, too.

Another way to break it up is to study regularly instead of just the night before. You can always review your notes and read over the chapters you’re working on. Or, if you’re studying math or science, do some practice problems.

How much studying should you do each night? Your teacher can help you figure it out. Most brains can only pay attention for about 45 minutes. So if you’ve been working for a while and find it hard to pay attention, try taking a break for some water or a walk around the house. Just fight the temptation to turn on the TV or stop working!

5. Lose the Confusion — Ask for Help
You can’t study effectively if you don’t understand the material. Be sure to ask your teacher for help if you’re confused about something. You can check yourself by reading through your notes. Does it all make sense? If not, ask your teacher to go over it with you. If you’re at home when the confusion occurs, your mom or dad might be able to help.

6. Sleep Tight!
So the test is tomorrow and you’ve followed your study plan — but suddenly you can’t remember anything, not even 2+2! Don’t panic. Your brain needs time to digest all the information you’ve given it. Try to get a good night’s sleep and you’ll be surprised by what comes back to you in the morning.